3 Jehoshaphat gave each of them silver and gold, as well as other valuable
gifts. He also put them in charge of the fortified cities in Judah, but he had
chosen his oldest son Jehoram to succeed him as king.

4 After Jehoram had taken control of Judah, he had his brothers killed,
as well as some of the nation's leaders.

5 He was thirty-two years old when he became king, and he ruled eight
years from Jerusalem.

6 Jehoram married Ahab's daughter and followed the sinful example of
Ahab's family and the other kings of Israel. He disobeyed the LORD by doing
wrong,

7 but because the LORD had made a solemn promise to King David that someone
from his family would always rule in Judah, he refused to wipe out David's descendants.

8 While Jehoram was king, the people of Edom rebelled and chose their
own king.

9 Jehoram, his officers, and his cavalry marched to Edom, where the Edomite
army surrounded them. He escaped during the night,

10 but Judah was never able to regain control of Edom. Even the town
of Libnah rebelled at that time. Those things happened because Jehoram had turned
away from the LORD, the God his ancestors had worshiped.

11 Jehoram even built local shrines in the hills of Judah and let the
people sin against the LORD by worshiping foreign gods.

12 One day, Jehoram received a letter from Elijah the prophet that said:
I have a message for you from the LORD God your ancestor David worshiped. He
knows that you have not followed the example of Jehoshaphat your father or Asa
your grandfather.

13 Instead you have acted like those sinful kings of Israel and have
encouraged the people of Judah to stop worshiping the LORD, just as Ahab and
his descendants did. You even murdered your own brothers, who were better men
than you.

14 Because you have done these terrible things, the LORD will severely
punish the people in your kingdom, including your own family, and he will destroy
everything you own.

15 You will be struck with a painful stomach disease and suffer until you
die.

16 The LORD later caused the Philistines and the Arabs who lived near
the Ethiopians to become angry at Jehoram.

17 They invaded Judah and stole the royal property from the palace, and
they led Jehoram's wives and sons away as prisoners. The only one left behind
was Ahaziah, his youngest son.

18 After this happened, the LORD struck Jehoram with an incurable stomach
disease.

19 About two years later, Jehoram died in terrible pain. No bonfire was
built to honor him, even though the people had done this for his ancestors.

20 Jehoram was thirty-two years old when he became king, and he ruled
eight years from Jerusalem. He died, and no one even felt sad. He was buried
in Jerusalem, but not in the royal tombs.

The Contemporary English Version, Copyright &COPY; 1995
by the American Bible Society.

Selected texts provided for use with the Amos: Hypertext Bible Commentary